


The Oddest Couple?

by Sharyrazade



Series: Children of Men - Fallen PT AU [3]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Anger Management, Canon Autistic Character, Control Issues, Controlling Futaba, Domestic Fluff, Explicit Language, F/M, Fallen Heroes, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Murder, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Protectiveness, Rare Pairings, Revenge, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Wakaba/Futaba's biological father is mentioned in passing but it's not really important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-15 03:39:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12313029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharyrazade/pseuds/Sharyrazade
Summary: Futaba and her favorite partner-in-crime reflect on their pasts and just how fucking good revenge can feel.





	The Oddest Couple?

Lounging in their shared bed one sleepless night, Ryuji Sakamoto sighed dully at their television's droning, listlessly scratching at his scalp. Lately, he'd let the blond dye fade in contrast with his (comparatively) rowdier youth; it was just too much effort for too little gain. However, he knew better than to interrupt his rather-eccentric girlfriend over trivial matters such as this, particularly when she was at the helm of her battle station; he knew fuck all about laptops and building-slash-repairing them, but Ryuji knew her well enough to know that the term was no exaggeration as far as Futaba was concerned. After all, the deviant scum of society, whether low or high, were not exactly going police themselves, now are they?

"Ugh, that Makoto and her self-righteous crap!" raged Futaba. "She thinks she's entitled to be the voice of reason and wag her finger at us just because of that badge of hers! If anything, SHE'S the hypocrite, not us! 'Dr. Jekyll and Miss Hyde' my-" 

"Y'know babe," Ryuji said tiredly. "taking that kind of thing in stride is kind of part of life. I mean, if I lost it every time Mona called me a moron or something like that, we'd never get anything done."

The self-proclaimed Mistress of the Metaverse (although, "warden" was probably a more applicable title, as she'd admit on occasion) sighed tiredly, putting her machine on its sleep mode. "Yeah, I know." she conceded, placing the laptop and her glasses on the nightstand. "I'd never tell this to anyone outside of you or Akira, but I've just still got all this anger I don't really know what to do with, so I just-"

"Trust me, I've been there. If Akira and all you guys hadn't been there for me after all the bullshit with Kamoshida and the track team-"

 

As if on cue, at the appearance of the clean-shaven, spectacled man addressing a press conference, Ryuji scoffed in derision before muting the television. "I trust the guy with my life and even yours, don't get me wrong," he prefaced bitterly. "but the one thing I'll never understand exactly is Akira insisting we just let this asshole go! After all the shit he pulled?!"

"Like letting his rabid-dog bastard-spawn loose on the country and my mom?" asked Futaba facetiously. "I feel so stupid for falling for his sob story! Looking back on it, if you guys had actually given me one of those model guns, I'd have just walked up to him and emptied it into Akechi's head while you all were trying to talk him down."

"Hey, I feel ya there. If it had been my mom- hell, or even my dad, all of you guys together wouldn't have been able to keep me off him."

Futaba smiled a genuine smile at this expression of solidarity, a reminder that they were not so dissimilar as the masks the presented to the world would lead one to believe. More often than not, organizations and companies will have rules against fraternization among members. The Phantom Thieves of course, was not one of these organizations. Nonetheless, Futaba, being a not-at-all affectionate girl and not much more so as a woman, was just simply able to keep a nigh-impenetrable wall between her work and private lives. Then again, she was not lacking certain desires of her own; contrary to Sojiro's fears, Futaba was actually the "aggressor," so to speak, in a certain incident.

Ryuji on the other hand, after their experience with Sojiro and one of Leblanc's tables, was rather...skittish about the prospect of divulging their relationship to the others, an otherwise-uncharacteristic nervousness she found downright adorable. Even if he bought his particular public tactlessness about one of her other loves, Egyptology, whether concerning the old ( _"So those obelisk thingies were basically bragging about how big their dicks were, right?")_ or the new ( _"It's such bullshit they make you wear that rag on your head whenever you come_ _here!"_ ), there was a certain innocence- a certain charm to his complete and utter lack of any filter.

Even if he/she/it was the cosmic equivalent of a bored kid in possession of an ant farm, a cup of boiling water, and a disapproving mother, Ryuji for his part, thanked it everyday that the love of his life and his best friend- his brother really, were generally on the same page as far as their operations were concerned, their differences being mainly those of means and methods rather than ideas. But this magnanimity was not returned by certain group members. While she'd never say so openly, Makoto made no secret of the fact she disapproved of the methods he and Futaba saw fit to use. Ryuji could deal with that, as many disliked him. But the passive-aggressive slights against Futaba, referring to her as things like Frankenstein, Frankenstein's Monster, Empress Nero (once the prodigy explained it, Ryuji was outraged), was one of the few things which could make him truly and honestly angry; and he did not take this lying down either, particularly after dealing with a certain lowlife, one Youji Isshiki.

* * *

_Rather huffily, Makoto made her way to the station, hoping against hope not to run into the pair with whom she'd earlier quarreled, but to no avail, Ryuji leaning against a vending machine, he and Futaba both casting a critical eye on her.  
_

_"You didn't have to do that." Makoto admonished curtly. "I could have let it go had you just killed him- but you- you butchered him."  
_

_"Uh, yes I did." answered Ryuji harshly, his left arm unconsciously cradling the young lady. "The bastard had it coming."_

_"That's not the point! Was that really necessary, Ryuji? To keep beating him long after he'd stopped fighting, let alone moving?"_

_Futaba shrugged. "Yeah, he did have it coming. Fuck him." she remarked coldly._

 

_Ryuji's nostrils flared as he leaned forward. "How about if it was someone you actually gave a fuck about?! If it had been Sae he had been abusin'  as a kid, would that have changed your answer any? Or if it'd been Akira, Cuck Queen?"_

_Momentarily gazing blankly, as if a part of her soul had been stabbed, Makoto's expression turned to one of icy contempt. "WHAT did you just call me?" she inquired dangerously._

_"Please! I'm not as stupid as Mona says! You really think we didn't notice how you've been ever since those two got engaged? Or especially since they got hitched? All that sulking around and feelin' sorry for yourself? You'd hafta be blind not to notice!"  
_

_"You think just because you've nearly got that fancy degree and are being fast-tracked for any position in the police you want, that makes you better than us." interjected Futaba through gritted teeth. "Me, Ryuji, Akira, and Ann especially. But just you wait, Miss Justice; there'll come a time when your high-and-mighty bullshit won't cut it in the real world."_

_She'd never found the sound of an arriving train to be this distracting before, true. But for Makoto tonight, the barbs had, even if she did not want to admit it, hit far too close to home given the physical and psychological exhaustion inherent to using the Metaverse. "Well then," Makoto resumed exasperatedly, well-convinced there was more to her teammates' relationship than met the eye. "at least I can look myself in the mirror every morning and not see a mass-murdering tyrant looking back at me."_

_Makoto disappearing into the mildly-crowded train, Ryuji slammed his fist against the vending machine behind him. "I ain't proud of it," he prefaced sourly. "but that's probably the closest I ever got to raising my hand against a woman in anger."_

_Futaba gave a smirk that mildly disturbed even her lover on some unconscious level. "Don't worry about it, babe. You've just given me some REALLY useful data from crushing that cockroach. Honestly, I'm more impressed with this than the jobs Ann and Yusuke did."_

* * *

Ryuji grinned awkwardly. "I had no idea that was actually a word until you explained it at home."

"The pause told me you meant it as two words," Futaba said with a smirk. "but it was a nice jab."

Futaba making a good bit less space between the couple, Ryuji could not help but smile at this strange, but wonderful creature next to him. He loved the man, but he knew damn well that Akira could more than take care of himself in a pinch. But Futaba? Not so much. Truly, the one thing that angered him above anything else was anyone or anything abusing or bringing harm to her; no force in the world could stop him from punishing whatever son-of-a-bitch saw fit to even try, let alone think about it. Why else would he keep beating her lowlife uncle's shadow self well after it had stopped being a threat?

 "Y'know what actually made me sure you were the one?" Ryuji resumed.

"Hmm, what's that?" inquired Futaba, her head turned upward to her boyfriend.

"Even after all the bullshit you were put through, all the troubles you had, you still did your very damnedest just to just live life to the fullest. That was and is, just so amazing to me, y'know?"

Futaba gave a genuine, relaxed smile. "I can't take _all_ the credit. Yeah, Akira and Ann did their part, but you- even after everything life threw at you, big and small, you just never gave up, kept on living your life and so earnestly! How could I not fall for that?"

Switching off the television, Ryuji, while somewhat concerned he was being forward, continued. "Akira and Ann got me wondering," he said carelessly. "do you think we'd be good parents? N-not that I want 'em right away or anything! I was just wondering."

Futaba chuckled. "You're not confident all the time, I see." she remarked playfully. "I know you're self-conscious about your father, but yeah, I really think you'd be a great dad."

 

It was moments like these where Ryuji, a rather chaotic individual by nature, felt most at peace. He could say there was one area he knew damned well he'd be superior to his own father in; anyone threatening or harming his speculative child and somewhat-less-speculative wife would not have a long, painless life.

"Sooooooooooo...." began Futaba, running a finger up his toned, bare chest. "I know you don't want kids _just_ yet, but I was thinking that we could, you know, practice the fun part about having them."

While not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer by his own admission, Ryuji knew her well enough to pick up on Futaba's intentions, giving a stupid grin accordingly. "You know it, babe!"

Futaba beginning to draw a trail of hungry kisses up her boyfriend's neck, Ryuji became aware of one extremely important potential moodkiller. "Wait, Sojiro ain't got any way of watching us, right?"

Futaba sighed in (more than one type) of frustration, rolling her eyes. "No, he doesn't."

"Oh, great! That's really a load of my mind! Say, we can even roleplay as those two- wait, what were their names again?"

"Isis and Osiris, Ryuji!"

**Author's Note:**

> I really have no friggin' clue why I shipped these two together. It's not just the genius-idiot dichotomy between them either.  
> And speaking of Futaba's dislike of Shido and Akechi, I didn't think much of the theory, but now that I look at Part 4 a bit more closely, given the whole dramatic irony angle of who actually murdered Wakaba and the fact that they're both rather unusual Persona users, Shido being her biological father actually makes a lot of sense in hindsight.


End file.
